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S. T. RICHARDSON.

Lever Power and Dredge Winder.. No. 236,360. Patented Jan. 4,1881.-

/////////l/ .mlugrrmim ll-llllll n` NVENTOR t ATTORNEYS.

WITNESSES Wfe/M N PErERS. PHOTO-LlncGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. D. C4

NTTE STATES Trice.

ATENT SAMUEL T. RICHARDSON, OF CAMBRIDGE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO J. HOOPER SHEPHERD, OF SAME PLACE.

LEVER-POWER AND DREDGE-WINDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part `of Letters Patent No. 236,360, dated January 4, 1881.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL T. RICHARD- SON, of Cambridge, in the county of Dorchester and State of Maryland, have invented a new and Improved Lever-Power Dredge-Wind er; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this 1o specification.

My invention relates to a novel mechanism designed more particularly for winding up oyster-dredges, but applicable also to other analogous uses. A

35 In the business of gathering oysters by the present system of dredging the dredge is hauled along the bottom of the river or bay by a cable attached to the vessel whose movement through the water supplies the power to 2o drag the dredge. Now,this business notonly involves the hardest kind of manual labor in winding up the dredge when full; but is, moreover, attended with very great danger to the man at the windlass, for if, in the progressive movement of the boat, the dredge catches in a rock or other obstruction on the bed of 'the river, asit frequently does, it is not possible to suddenly check the headway ofthe boat, and the result is a tremendous back strain on 3o the windlass, jerking the cranks out of the hands of the workmen and whirling them around with such rapidity and violence as t0 either brain the men outright or permanently cripple the same.

My inventionis designed to provide a means for avoiding this danger and at the same time to reduce the manual labor involved, and to this end I abandon the use or' cranks, which naturallydraw the men into the rangeot'their sweep,

4o and substitute therefor a vibrating leverpower and gears, whose peculiar construction imparts a continuous rotary motion to the windlass-barrel', and in a very compact space serves to utilize the power ofthe man in a safer and more economical and expeditious manner.

My invention also consists in the peculiar construction and arrangement of devices for quickly diseugaging the barrel of the windlass from its shaft when an obstruction is 5o struck, so as to allow the cable to payout and avoid the backward movement of the gears,

all as hereinafter more fully explained With reference to the drawings, in which- Figure l is a front elevation Fig. 2. a side elevation; Fig. 3, a rear elevation; Fig. 4, a plan view and Fig. 5 are details, respectively, of the end of the windlass-barrel and the eccentric tripper.

y Referring to these drawings, A represents any suitable frame or pedestal which serves to 6o carry the winding mechanism. This frame must be made with a broad base, so that it maybe enabled to resist the strain ofthe dredge without tearing up the decks, and I preferably make the entire frame of iron.

In forked supports B B is looselyjournaled the main shaft O, carrying the'windlass-barrel D, upon which the dredge-cable is wound. This barrel is constructed at one end with a clutch, a, which is adapted to itinto another 7o corresponding clutch, a', tixed tightly on the shaft C, so that when these clutches are engaged the shaft and barrel revolve rigidly together, and when disengaged the barrel. is

.capable of an independent rotation on said shaft. On each side of the barrel there is attached to the shaft a ratchet-wheel, E E, permanently' and rigidly secured to the shaft; and just inside these ratch et-wheels are corresponding toothed segments F F, which are loosely 8o h ung upon the shaft, and whose teeth are beveled and arranged in the curve of a circle. These segments carry on their outer sides dogs G G, arranged in the plane of the ratchetwheels, and adapted to engage therewith with a pulling movement. At right angles to the plane of the segments F, and t'ulcrumed upon a support, H, I arrange a vibrating double headed lever-frame, l, whose heads are curved and provided with beveled teeth, that engage 9o with the teeth ofthe segments F. This leverframe is provided on its outside with Sockets c, into which are inserted handles Jlong enough for a proper leverage.

Now, in operating the device as so far described, it will be seen that these handles or levers J are grasped, and being moved up and down simply, it is not necessary that the workmen should throw their bodies into the range. of their movement, as with a crank, and besides a greater amount of power is developd from the same excretion. Now, as these IOO levers are worked, when one is raised-the right one, say-the let't one is depressed, and the left-hand bevel-gear will be forced down, and its dog will be dragged down, and the ratchet-wheel on this side will be the working- Wheel which turns the shaft and coupled barrel to wind up the windlass. While this is being doneit will be seen that the right-hand gear will be rising and its dog will be slipping back over its ratchet-wheel for a new hold. rlhen, when the movement ot' the levers is reversed, the gears on opposite sides change functions, and the right one goes to work to continue the winding, while the left takes a new hold, so that by this movement of the levers a continuous rotary movement will be given to the barrel.

I will now describe the tripping mechanism for releasing the barrel from its center shaft.

At the end ot1 the barrel next to the clutch (see Fig. 5) is formed a ring-shaped row ot' ratchet-teeth, b, and in the range oi'these teeth is loosely pivoted a tripper, s, which is supported upon a standard or traine-piece, d, and which tripper has a series of eccentric teeth designed for engagement with the ratchetteeth of the barrel. So long as the barrel is turned in the direction necessary to wind up the cable, as shown by the arrow, the tripper s rests against the teeth b, and the latter pass freely up and under the same. As soon, however, as any backward movement takes place,

as from the unusual strain ot' an obstruction, the ratchet-teeth b, in moving back, catch rst the short teeth ot' the tripper, and this throws the tripper down into a horizontal position and causes the most eccentric teeth ot' the tripper to push the barrel endwise on the shaft and disengage the clutches a and e', thus allowing the now loose barrel to turn freely backward on the shaft. In Working this part ot' the device it will be seen that whenever the levers are at rest, as at the end of every up-and-down stroke, the ratchets being then for an instant at rest, the dogs will both-drop into the ratchets, and 11o matter what strain there may be on the barrel there can be no initial back movement to start the tripper, because the toothed lever-frame is held at both ends by both dogs. To permit a slight backward movement then to sta-rt the tripper, it is necessary that one ot' the dogs only should be engaged at this time, and I therefore attach a trip-cord, e, to one or the other of the dogs, and as soon as the resistance is felt by the workman in the harder Working of the levers, the cord is pulled to lit't one of the. dogs, and then the back strain coming on one ot' the dogs itallows the barrel to start backward to the extent ot' one sweep of the lever-frame, which back movement is utilized to disengage the clutch through the tripper.

In modifying my invention, instead of using simple segments F F, I may complete the periphery so as to form them into perfect wheels, and the lever-frame I, I may construct with a single complete periphery in the same manner. I may also, if found desirable, cast the clutch c and its adjacent ratchet-wheel together, and allow the segmental gear F to turn on a hub ot the same.

Now, in defining my invention more clearly, I would state that I am aware that it is not new, as a mechanical movement, to create a continuous rotary movement by an oscillatory movement of' levers, and I do not make any claim tohaving invented this. Iam notaware, however, that the saine, orY anysubstantially similar mechanism to that shown, has ever before been used, and it has the merit oi' great strength, economy in applying power, and compactness, the end gears F F and the leverframe I serving to house or make a space for the windlass, as clearly shown in Fig. 4.

I am aware, also, that the endwise shitting ot' the wimllass-barrel by an eccentric tripper is not new, and I only claim this when combined with the cord and the working-gear as shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new isl. The lever-power dredge-Winder herein described, consisting oi' ay rotary winding-axis, a pairoi'ratchet-wheels rigidly connected thereto, a pair ot' bevel-gears hungl on the windingaXis and having dogs engaging with the ratchet-w heels, a nd a vibrating lever-trame arranged in a plane at right angles to the bevel-gears, and having teeth engaging therewith, all combined for a continuous movement of the winding-axis, as described.

2. The combination, with a windlass or winding-drum, ot' a mechanism for converting an oscillatory movement into a continuons rotary movement, arranged as described, to inclose the windlass on three sides.

3. The combination ot' the winding-shaft C, having ratchet-wheels E E, the segmental bevel-gears F F, carrying dogs G G, and the lever-frame I, having double-headed beveltoothed segments, substantially as shown and described.

4. The combination ofthe winding-shaft C, having ratchet-wheels E and clutch a, the loose barrel D, having clutch a, and ratchet-'teeth b, the eccentrically -toothed tripper s, mounted upon a tiXed support, the bevel-gears F F, carrying dogs G G, the vibrating levenframe I, having bevel-toothed segments, and the. tripping-cord c, attached to one oi' the dogs, substantially' as and for the purpose described.

SAMUEL T. RICHARDSON.

Witnesses WM. BoNE, J. S. Snowman.

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